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The BIA has several key events that take place yearly. These events all have sponsorship, advertising and general information which you can find here. For a full list of weekly events be sure to check the calendar on the main page.

Advertising

As you plan your budget for next year, we hope you’ll keep the BIA in mind. Our Association offers numerous sponsorship and advertising opportunities throughout the year, targeting both members and consumers.

Advocacy

Since 1943, the Building Industry Association of Central Ohio (BIA) has represented single and multi-family homebuilders, developers and remodelers throughout our region. Other members include trade partners, suppliers and service professionals.

Advocacy

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As a BIA member there are several resources available to you. Please be sure to take a look and utilize the many tools we have to offer.

Building Insider

The BIA’s magazine Building Insider is published 6 times a year, with a special section addition covering the Parade. It is the only local publication providing an in-depth guide to our local homebuilding industry. The magazine provides news and information targeted to the wide variety of building-related professions of our members..

Resources

Consumers

Since 1943, the Building Industry Association of Central Ohio (BIA) has represented single and multi-family homebuilders, developers and remodelers throughout our region. Other members include trade partners, suppliers and service professionals.

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BIA Foundation

BIA members and community members have partnered with the BIA Foundation giving of their time, talent and resources to make an impact on the lives of those within the Central Ohio community and supporting development of the next generation housing industry professionals.

Initiatives

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BIA members are welcome to help the BIA encourage young people to pursue careers in the residential building industry by donating to the BIA Scholarship Fund. Contributions are 100% tax deductible, and you will be recognized right here on our website as a Scholarship Donor. Your donations are greatly appreciated!

Complete Story

05/15/2018

How to build a workforce for builders

That’s the simple logic behind Construction Careers Pathways, an initiative jointly developed by the Construction Careers Foundation, trade unions, construction companies, high schools, nonprofits, the state of Minnesota, and other strategic partners. Their aim is to attract more young people to construction careers such as electricians, plumbers, welders, sheet metal workers, carpenters, ironworkers, and pipefitters.

The effort is intended to address “a huge need in the marketplace,” said Pat Wagner, director of the St. Paul-based Construction Careers Foundation, a nonprofit formed in 2003.

A recent, national survey by the Associated General Contractors of America revealed that nearly 80 percent of construction businesses in Minnesota are having difficulty finding qualified craft labor. As baby boomers reach retirement age, the industry is “starting to see some labor shortages,” said Don Mullen, executive secretary of the St. Paul Building and Construction Trades Council, one of the organizations partnering with the foundation.

To address that need, the foundation wants to inform the next generation and their influencers (parents, guidance counselors and teachers) about construction careers as well-paying alternatives to college and student loan debt.

Wagner said the effort includes a focus on reaching groups who may have been historically underrepresented in the skilled trades, including women, veterans, and people of color.

The Construction Careers Pathways initiative has developed a paid summer construction internship for selected Twin Cities high schoolers, 16 and older. Participants in the Minnesota Trades Academy receive instruction at local union trade centers and try activities like plumbing, pipefitting and electrical work, “so they can see what the work is,” said Gary Thaden, president of the Minnesota Mechanical Contractors Association.

The initiative has developed several other programs, including:

Kids at Work, a summer experience for students in grades 4-9 combining fun and games related to science, technology, engineering and math with hands-on activities focused on the building trades industry.

Construct Tomorrow, which provides hands-on educational opportunities for high school youth in the building and construction trades statewide.

The Building Minnesota Apprenticeship Program, an entry-level, multi-craft training program for adult women, veterans and members of minority and immigrant groups who historically have been underrepresented in the construction trades.

Helmets to Hardhats, which recruits, retains, assists and supports National Guard, reserve, and active duty military members’ and veterans’ participation in construction trades apprenticeship programs.

Wagner said the Construction Careers Foundation’s effort has been well-received by the groups it targets. Generally, the current generation of young people “is very ‘kinesthetic’ — they love working with their minds and their hands,” Wagner said. “Everything we do is focused on providing ‘hands-on’ experiences.”

Along with the summer program, the Construction Careers Pathways initiative also involves working with high schools “to bring construction curriculum back into the schools,” Wagner said. For example, some schools have started offering welding instruction. Along with the skilled trades, the program also provides information on related careers such as construction management, estimating, architecture and engineering.

The program began in 2015 at four sites: Bloomington College and Career Academy; Minneapolis Roosevelt High School; St Paul Central High School, and the White Bear Lake Alternative Learning Center. Today, it’s being offered at nine more campuses or districts: Eagan High School, Forest Lake, Irondale/Mounds View, Lakeville, Roseville, South St. Paul, White Bear Lake North and South, and Humboldt.

This year, five crews with 15 students each are participating in the summer program. The Construction Careers Foundation eventually wants to expand the program beyond the Twin Cities to outstate Minnesota, Wagner said.

Wagner said Lah Htoo, a senior at Como Park Senior High School, is an example of the type of student the program is designed to reach.

Htoo, who came to the United States from Myanmar with his parents in 2009, spent two summers participating in the Minnesota Trades Academy. Htoo said the program opened his eyes to career possibilities in the building trades and helped him decide on a direction. He plans to pursue a degree in civil engineering, first at Century College and then the University of Minnesota, to prepare for a career in construction.

Thaden said the outreach efforts might already be having an impact. He has observed an upswing in interest in the construction trades. “Some of the apprenticeship programs [in the Twin Cities] have had many more applications than they have openings,” Thaden said.

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